NEWS: Pres. Abbas may postpone further national unity talks with Hamas until after the UN meeting in September. Bilin villagers prepare to build on land regained from the separation barrier. Some flotilla ships are ready to sail, but organizers say two of them have been sabotaged. Palestinian leaders condemn a U.S. Senate resolution threatening an aid cutoff. The Israeli military reports it has no means to deal with mass nonviolent protests in the West Bank. Israeli officials say they’re working with the US and Europe to restart talks. Unnamed sources say Jordan may oppose Palestinian moves at the UN. Prominent friends of Israel urge PM Netanyahu to accept Pres. Obama’s proposal for new negotiations. COMMENTARY: Daoud Kuttab says nonviolence is the Palestinian third way. Gideon Levy says Israel has become obsessed with force and violence. Carlo Strenger says despite hysteria, Israel is not on the brink of destruction. Bradley Burston says Israel could easily deal with the flotilla by just letting it dock in Gaza. Nahum Barnea says the arrest of an extremist Rabbi is political theater. D. Bloomfield says it’s not clear what Abbas wants. Rep. Gary Ackerman says a Palestinian UN initiative could pose a serious threat to Israel. Larry Derfner says Israeli propaganda over the flotilla is out of control.

NEWS: PM Fayyad expresses skepticism about a UN bid and says he refuses to be cast as the obstacle to national unity. Palestinians are using former settlement land in Gaza for agriculture. Israel intensifies its campaign against the next flotilla. The debate on the Gaza blockade is intensifying. Raed Salah is arrested during a trip to the UK. The BBC looks at possible Palestinian UN strategies. Pres. Abbas is visiting the Netherlands to seek more support. COMMENTARY: Gerard Errera says a Paris peace conference could be very effective. Shlomo Avineri says efforts to push Palestinian statehood don’t constitute delegitimization of Israel. Ha’aretz says an extremist Rabbi should not be arrested, but should be fired. Sobhi Ghandour says pan-Arab unification is the only good answer to Israel. Rami Khouri says Palestinians are developing new strategies. Gary Rosenblatt profiles Bashar Masri. Aaron Menenberg says Israel is constantly sabotaging itself. Gershon Baskin says he doesn’t think the Israeli government is doing everything it can to recover Gilad Shalit. Qadura Fares discusses the predicament of Palestinian prisoners.

NEWS: Israel reverses its warning it would ban foreign journalists who board the next Gaza flotilla. Israeli lobbying stalls the boats in Greece. Hamas blames Fatah for a delay in unity talks. PLO officials say they are optimistic about a UN statehood bid. FM Lieberman says flotilla activists seek “blood,” but organizers dismiss the claims. Israel says it’s preparing for an outbreak of violence in September. Israel bans teaching Palestinian prisoners. The US is funding a study of Israeli and Palestinian textbooks. Experts say Israel far outstrips Arab states in technology. COMMENTARY: Walter Rodgers says Israel and Evangelicals need to understand that the book of Genesis is not a policy guide. Ma’an says Palestinian leaders should be clear about their national liberation policy. Moshe Arens says Egypt should now be responsible for Gaza. Akiva Eldar says PM Netanyahu is playing with fire by relying on a US veto at the UN. Gershon Baskin says whatever happens in September, the two-state solution must be preserved. The Arab News says the world should support Palestinian statehood in September. Yossi Alpher says Israel is mishandling the Gilad Shalit issue. Ghassan Khatib says the prisoner issue generally is crucial to peace. Hussein Ibish says Palestinian nonviolent resistance will be a crucial component to national liberation.

NEWS: Israel warns international journalists against being onboard another Gaza flotilla. US officials are trying to resuscitate talks to forestall a Palestinian UN initiative in September. Israeli leaders are urged to directly address the Arab publics. PLO leaders say they are going forward with their UN initiative and seek international support. After years of protests, court rulings and delays, Israel moves the separation barrier from part of a West Bank village. Villagers say their protests are far from over. Another prisoner dies in Hamas custody. Hamas says it doesn’t want to work with the German mediator in prisoner negotiations anymore. Gaza construction belies ongoing economic misery. Fatah says the nomination of PM Fayyad to continue in office is “final” and must be accepted by Hamas. COMMENTARY: Yossi Alpher, Colette Avital, Shlomo Gazit and Mark Heller say a Palestinian UN statehood initiative can be turned into a win-win scenario. Hagit Borer explains why she’s joining the Gaza flotilla. Ma’an interviews UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness. Ha’aretz says Israel should just let the flotilla land in Gaza. Akiva Eldar says Europe should keep pushing for peace. Uri Avnery says Israel was created both unilaterally and at the UN. Raymond Helmick and Nazir Khaja say Palestinians are recasting their struggle in nonviolent terms. Foreign Policy interviews novelist Alice Walker about joining the Gaza flotilla. Liam Hoare says FM Lieberman’s party is shaped by its Soviet foundations. JJ Goldberg says increasingly few people think PM Netanyahu believes in peace.

NEWS: Hamas refuses to prove that a captured Israeli soldier is still alive. PM Netanyahu has said Israel will retaliate with harsher conditions for Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians say Turkey has pledged to help their UN bid. PM Netanyahu reportedly tells US officials he accepts that negotiations should be based on the 1967 borders. Palestinians also say they’re willing to soften their positions to facilitate talks. The PA fines a truck driver for distributing settlement goods. Netanyahu’s son reportedly posts disparaging remarks about Arabs on Facebook. PM Fayyad participates in a protest against the separation barrier. The EU casts doubt on Palestinian chances that the UN in September. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says Israelis and Palestinians are avoiding painful compromises like children avoiding the dentist. Jeremy Ben-Ami says Israel should welcome criticism from its friends. Yehuda Ben Meir joins calls for Netanyahu to change his coalition. Al-Hayat interviews Zbigniew Brzezinski. Marwan Al Kabalan says Arabs are starting to doubt Pres. Obama’s ability to broker peace. Ha’aretz interviews EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Rana Baker says Israeli restrictions make Palestinians tourists in their own homes. Saleh Al-Naami says settlers continue to deploy violence against Palestinians with impunity. Mohsen Saleh says recent border incidents have put the right of return back on the agenda.

NEWS: An Israeli artist explores issues about boundaries and identity. The CSM looks at how a hoax about stoning a dog spread across the news media. Israel’s Foreign Ministry thinks that less than two thirds of the UN General Assembly will vote for Palestinian statehood. Israel destroys Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley. The Red Cross demands proof from Hamas that a captured Israeli soldier is still alive. Saudi Arabia pledges $70 million for housing in Gaza. EU officials say Palestinians may not approach the UN in September. Analysts speculate Hezbollah might start a war with Israel to protect the Syrian government. Pressure mounts on Palestinians not to go to the UN. COMMENTARY: Dmitry Shumsky says national narratives shape the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but are always hanging. Asaf Romirowsky says Jordan is an important ally of Israel. Larry Derfner suggests ways of combating racism at Israeli soccer matches. Susan Hattis Rolef says Israel needs a policy to deal with its Palestinian citizens. Paul Danahar says the atmosphere for peace is poisoned. The Forward is appalled Israeli politicians are again debating “who is a Jew?” Faisal Al Qasim says Israel is happy to deal with impotent Arab autocrats. Michael Jansen asks why Israel cares so much about more Gaza flotillas. Alon Ben-Meir asks if the API is still viable. Amira Hass says the Palestinian police need to operate freely in more of the occupied territories.

NEWS: Pres. Obama says the United States may have “tactical disagreements” with Israel. Pres. Abbas reiterates that Palestinians want to resume negotiations, will go to the UN in September and will have a government headed by PM Fayyad. Fayyad says he refuses to continue as prime minister, even though a new poll shows him to be the popular choice. Obama assures Jewish donors he strongly supports Israel. Settlers use tourism to tighten their grip on the occupied territories. Gazans are not feeling much relief from the border opening. Turkey and Israel hold secret talks to repair relations. PM Netanyahu says Israel must separate from the Palestinians. Outgoing Israeli military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi says a Palestinian state is “inevitable” and urges resuming negotiations. Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan has been stripped of his diplomatic passport after remarks critical of the Israeli government. COMMENTARY: Sefi Rachlevsky says that because of religious fanaticism, the Israeli military is leading Israel to destruction. Daoud Kuttab says Palestinians need a holistic strategy for independence. Gerald Auerbach says Israel was founded amidst a legitimacy crisis and had to fight its own extremists. Gershon Baskin says Palestinians need energy as well as political independence. Khalaf Al Habtoor says more Arab commitment to the Palestinian cause is required. Jeff Halper says even a symbolic show of support for Palestine at the UN will be a significant victory. Yossi Alpher says that rather than trying to resuscitate talks, the international community should turn UN efforts into a win-win situation. Ghassan Khatib says Europe is the key to what happens in September. Roger Hercz says Israel is torn over the Arab Spring.

NEWS: Palestinians cancel national unity negotiations in Cairo, as the disagreement over the next PM continues. Israel approves 2,000 new settler housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Hamas leaders complain about a feud within the organization’s hierarchy. Israel is the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter. Palestinian unemployment figures increase. Pres. Peres says peace with the Palestinians is urgent. Shaul Mofaz says Israel must prevent a Palestinian UN statehood bid. Anti-Palestinian initiatives are circulating in Congress. Young Palestinian children are routinely arrested by Israeli occupation forces in East Jerusalem. COMMENTARY: Thomas Friedman says the UN should update Resolution 181 and welcome Palestine as a member of the General Assembly. Victor Kattan says states, and not the UN as a body, will determine the status of Palestine. Akiva Eldar says Israelis prefer to forget the massacre at Deir Yassin. Carlo Strenger says the Israeli government is as disconnected from reality as mystics. Adel Safty says PM Netanyahu is sabotaging the peace process. Uri Avnery says Netanyahu’s rhetoric about Israel as a “Jewish state” is a trick to avoid Palestinian statehood. Bradley Burston says Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights to a home. Jackson Diehl claims Pres. Obama is “tough” on Israel but “timid” on Syria. Esther Cepeda says Gaza flotilla participants are not against Israel. Jeff Halper says the PA is making a “historic mistake” by not working enough with civil society.

NEWS: Israel says it will use force against another Gaza flotilla. The US continues to press for the resumption of negotiations. A boom in Palestinian soccer activity is meant to support statehood. FM Lieberman says all past agreements will be considered broken if Palestinians approach the UN in September. Palestinians say they are going to the UN with or without negotiations in progress. Palestinians reiterate their demand for a settlement freeze. Pres. Peres says without peace, Israel is in danger of ceasing to be a Jewish state. The Israeli cabinet may weaken DM Barak’s power to curb settlement activity. Egypt’s FM says Palestinian UN membership doesn’t delegitimize Israel. A Dubai bank launches a Palestinian investment fund. COMMENTARY: Ha’aretz says PM Netanyahu is condemning Israel to live by the sword. Bradley Burston says Israeli leftists must begin to talk about the right of return. Ziad Abu Zayyad says the Palestinians have no choice but to approach the UN in September. Ron Kampeas recounts Obama administration official Steve Simon’s call to Jewish American leaders. George Hishmeh says the US had better take Saudi concerns about favoritism towards Israel seriously. The Jordan Times welcomes France’s peace initiative. Abdel-Moneim Said says Israel is preventing an effective American response to the “Arab Spring.”

NEWS: Jordan’s King Abdullah says the failure of the peace process is a grave threat to the international community. A settler is arrested by Israeli authorities for killing a Palestinian near Nablus. Spain’s FM says talks should resume this year. Seven Palestinians are injured, two critically, during a protest against the separation barrier. Israeli officials say PM Netanyahu fears a third intifada. Israeli opposition leaders say Netanyahu has isolated Israel. A US official says cutting funds to the UN would harm Israeli and American interests. The Ford foundation maybe pulling back from funding Israeli initiatives. Hamas is trying to soften its image. Leading Jewish Americans deny Pres. Obama is trying to bully Netanyahu. COMMENTARY: Daoud Kuttab says Palestinians lack a broad strategy for independence. Larry Derfner says the US and Israeli right have become intimate allies. Brian Schaefer says that there are efforts to combat the propaganda of Birthright Israel. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid says anyone who bans artists to keep ambassadors happy doesn’t understand the Arab spring. George Hishmeh says the US will have to do better in answering Saudi concerns about Palestine. Michael Jansen says UNRWA is the only thing stopping Israeli “stealth ethnic cleansing.” The Arab News says Gaza continues to suffer under an indefensible blockade. Victor Kotsev says Meir Dagan could be the next Ariel Sharon. William Galston asks why peace seems so elusive. Jerome Segal says the UN should reestablish its Special Committee on Palestine. Ori Nir says Netanyahu’s policies that assume peace is not possible are leading Israel to a disaster. Khaled Abu Toameh says Pres. Abbas has no mandate.